John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.”
― Rumi
“Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
Just recently, I have witnessed how Gods grace envelops people who face trials. One example in particular is from a dear friend of mine who lost her son.
First, I want to state that there is never a good time to deal with death but it is unnatural for a parent to bury their child. I cannot imagine that kind of grief and pain. For my friend, one of the ways she has handled the death of her son is by never saying, “he is dead”. What she says instead is; “My son ascended January 5, 2013” and she says it with such love and hope. Thinking of death as “ascension” was mind-blowing and for some reason, it makes me smile. I wanted to share how her words have impacted the way I think about death and I hope they will help anyone who is grieving.
So what really happens when we die? Someday we will all find but for now, according to the handbook of Christian Apologetics there are 6 basic theories of the afterlife. (A brief explanation.)
- Materialism: Nothing survives. (Atheist)
- Paganism: Ghost survives and goes to the place of the dead, the dark, gloomy Underworld.
- Reincarnation: The individual soul survives and goes into another body.
- Pantheism: Death changes nothing, for what survives death is the same as what was real before. ( Hindu & Buddhism)
- Immortality: The individual soul survives death, but not the body. (Platonism, often confused with Christianity.)
- Resurrection: At death, the soul separates from the body and is reunited at the end of the world to its new, immortal, resurrected body by a divine miracle. (Christian)
The majority of these theories show a definite bias towards the body changing form and it supports my friend’s belief. So now when someone tells me that a person has died, although I immediately offer my sympathies, love and support, I cannot help but think to myself; “they are not dead… they have ascended!”
When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at, change! Death creates a feeling of hopelessness and loss. Knowing someone has ascended, on the other hand, creates a feeling of joy and even celebration.
Not everyone is ready for this view but perhaps someday we will lose the fear of death and can truly rejoice at the ascension of our loved ones.
As the song Karma of John Lennon; states; “We all shine on… Like the moon and the star and the sun!”
One final quote: “If you’re really a mean person you’re going to come back as a fly and eat poop.” ― Kurt Cobain Needless to say… Karma is a bitch! 😉
What do you believe?
Amen! As a parent of a child who has also passed away throughout the grieving process the peace that came over me is that my angel has also been ascended and she will welcome me to Heaven when it is my time.
My quote for this coming year is, ” There are only two important days in your life… The day you were born and the day you prove why you were born.” In our case, our daughter, although with us for such a short period she continues to show us her reasons… the power of prayer, why you never give up, and how life has been put into perspective in so many ways.
Thank you for sharing this Lilly!
Dear Aran,
I am truly sorry for your loss and at the same time rejoice for your little angel because she is surrounded by unconditional love… It is our ultimate reward!
Continue to hold on to the vision of seeing your precious angel when you enter into your reward. What great joy you will feel to hold her again when she greets you into her loving arms.
Thank you for sharing,
L
December 1, 1974, I was 22 years old and about to give birth to my first child, a little girl already named Maegan. After many hours of hard labor and asking for pain relief I was given a spinal block for anesthesia at the very end of the birth process. The OB/GYN administered it himself instead of following protocol and paging the on call anesthesiologist. He gave it to me too high in the spine and it anesthetized my heart and lungs which shut them down. My then husband was asked to leave and he passed out right outside the labor room door. I gave birth to my beautiful daughter at 7:50 AM and at 8:02 AM I was pronounced dead. The doctor went to the waiting room and told my worried mother and aunt that “the baby was fine but your daughter had a very hard time and she didn’t make it.”
In the cafeteria a few floors below the labor & delivery floor was a young African American Anesthesiologist that was on call. He came into the hospital an hour earlier, checked in and since there were no pages for him he went to get some breakfast. As he sat down with a full tray of food he got an overwhelming and unexplainable urge to leave the food and go to labor & delivery. That was the exact time when my mother was saying to the doctor delivering the news of my demise “No, she is going to be fine, you go back in there and take care of her, go back in there” as she grasped her rosaries and prayed harder than she ever had. My mothers propensity for denial finally paid off.
Shortly after the anesthesia was administered I told them I couldn’t breath. Then whatever makes me, uniquely me, left my body and I became acutely aware of everything. I saw my body laying lifeless and I had no affection for it. It was as if it was an empty container, once useful to support my spirit but now, no longer needed. I was also aware of everything that was going on there in the delivery room and around the hospital. I could hear what people were saying and knew what they were thinking. When the doctor realized the mistake he had made what ran through his mind was “A dead 22 year old is much easier to deal with than a paralyzed for life 22 year old.” He then threw a sheet over my face, declared the time of death and went to the waiting room. The nurses were thinking “Oh, no, another one!” I interpreted that to mean this was not the first time this had happened at the hands of this doctor.
When the young anesthesiologist arrived in the delivery room he asked “What happened?” and the nurses answered “Anesthesia shock.” He said Oh, no, I’m going to get nailed for this one, I was on call! He asked where the crash cart was expecting that there had been an attempt to revive me. The nurses just shook their heads and shrugged.
To read more: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/all_you_really_own_is_your_character
Dear Tina,
How touching and I am grateful for your sharing. I am so amazed how God calls us in such a unique way. Thank you for answering the call… You inspire me!
Much Love,
L